The Anderson Report

CHAPTER 25
MORAL LAXITY

The evidence showed that sometimes lax, and even low, standards of morality existed at the HASI. One witness said that while scientology did not advocate free love or talk in terms of advocating free love, yet the normal barriers to free love which might inhibit some people were non-existent for a scientologist. Certainly, in session, the barriers to intimate sexual revelation are down, and teenage female auditors discuss the most intimate and disgusting sexual matters with their male preclears; and it would seem that there is little restraint on conversation between the staff on such matters. One female preclear, whose husband was a staff member, revealed in auditing either a real or imagined "affair" with another scientologist. In the course of office routine, the preclear's file came to her husband, who, reading of the "affair", merely endorsed the file, "Lacks morals."

Hubbard, especially in his earlier writings, wrote extensively about such topics as abortion and other sexual matters. Some examples of Hubbard's preoccupation with such subjects are set out in Chapter 6. Though he makes some attempt at denouncing such behaviour, he treats abortion in such a way as to present it as a common and almost usual event with any woman, and he engenders in the minds of his adherents, for whom his books are recommended and almost essential reading, such an attitude towards and familiarity with abortion and similar topics that they lose any quality of moral wrongdoing. The subject of abortions seemed to be almost a regular coffee break topic at the HASI, and the evidence shows that a number of female members of the HASI staff, married and unmarried, have had abortions. Furthermore, scientology processing involves the removal of all normal checks and restraints and readily conditions a person to regard as of little consequence departures from normal moral standards. One can well understand, then, how scientology-indoctrinated women, married and unmarried, set as their goals in auditing sessions the goal to have a miscarriage- which, with a little bit of outside assistance, they then claim scientology processing achieved for them.

Scientology theories are in part at least responsible for the distorted attitude of scientologists towards sexual matters, for it is argued amongst some scientologists that to seduce a girl of, say, fifteen years of age would be of no moment, for the thetan has had many sexual experiences and really such a girl would be 76 trillion and 15 years old. And it is said amongst scientologists that if a girl of 15 years were to be upset when introduced to sexual relations at that age it would be because she had some enormous overt on sex in a past life. On this basis, a particular scientologist may well have considered it of little account that he was living as man and wife with a young girl of 15 or 16 years, who later at the age of l7 years was a staff auditor at the HASI.

And yet it is into an atmosphere such as this that Mrs. Williams said she would recommend mothers to send their daughters to start upon the career of a scientology auditor.

In auditing sessions, where the preclear is not allowed to have inhibitions or to show reticence or reluctance to revealing and discussing the most intimate things, sexual matters are frequently discussed at length and in startling detail and sexual feelings are aroused and dwelt upon. It frequently happens that the auditor is a male and the preclear is a female, or vice versa - both participants often being in their early twenties and sometimes younger This unrestrained dwelling upon sexual topics is sought to be justified by scientologists on the basis that such discussions are "in session", as though that circumstance regularized the debased and erotic prying which psychiatric evidence described as harmful and as bordering on voyeurism in the auditor.

In the evidence given by witnesses before the Board and in the files examined were many examples of quite shocking mental depravity. It is both unnecessary and undesirable to give full details of all these cases; a few typical examples will suffice to indicate the general nature of this particular form of perversion. Thus, in cases where the auditor was a young female and the preclear a male, such comments as the following appear in the files: "sexy as hell"; "pc gets often the urge to move down to his sex organs. If he does that he gets restimulated"; "pc has a bug about sending sexual beam at auditor"; "pc disturbed because he came to have auditing and now wants sexual intercourse." One female preclear, a widow, is recorded in four successive sessions as wanting to have sexual relations with her male auditor. In another case a female preclear, audited by a male, was run for 13 to 14 hours mainly on "sex withholds", the auditing command being, for part of the time, "What have you done that your mother would be ashamed to find out?" This preclear's file records that she "went into grief over being father's lover" in 1919, which, incidentally, was before the preclear was born.

It was quite common for preclears in auditing to tell in great detail about their sexual experiences in past lives. These hallucinations often related to the preclear's infidelity in an earlier existence, in which, not infrequently, the preclear was of the opposite sex to his or her sex

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in this lifetime. Acts of perversion by the preclear, both real and imagined, were readily discussed. One young man, oppressed by the thought of youthful acts of masturbation long since abandoned, was regularly processed at about six-monthly intervals on such earlier behaviour. One woman preclear recalled living on the island of Lesbos, and considered that she was the original Lesbian. She also believed she was Karl Marx in a previous life time; and another preclear, a male being audited at the same time, considered that he was her wife when she was Karl Marx. There was also the case of one scientologist who was worried because his wife was now living with another man who had been her husband in a previous life time.

One male witness, whose processing file contained a large number of references to disgusting sexual matters, when asked, "Did the sex of the auditor affect you in that regard?" answered with unexpected candour, "What do you think ? A luscious doll sitting in front of you and you have to cough up these horrible sex withholds. Of course it did."

The following cases give some detail of the predominance of sexual matters in the course of a preclear's prolonged association with the HASI. In the case of one young woman, an earlier goal "to be a martyr" having been cleared up, it was considered by the HASI that another goal, "To create a beautiful universe", which was showing up, might be her basic goal. Early in January, 1963, she was accordingly run on process "R2-12 Listing" (see Chapter 13) for several sessions with the purpose of bringing up such a goal or until it died out or until an R.R.ing (rocket reading) item was found.

On at least eight different days, sessions of several hours were held during which the preclear was asked repeatedly the question, "Who or what would oppose scientology?" During the course of these sessions, the preclear gave a total of over 1,200 answers which ranged from the most absurd to the most disgusting of topics. The preclear frequently repeated a particular item, sometimes emphasizing it by adding a vulgar adjective or adjectives. Amongst the answers given, and sometimes repeated, were, "fairies", "wizard", "witch", "witch doctors", "bodies", "bad sex", "dirty sex", "sexual pleasure", "sex organs", "maggots", "Ron Hubbard", and details of various sexual intimacies between her husband and herself.

Thereafter, on a number of days, the preclear was run for several hours each day on the same process, the questions put to her being, "Who or what would oppose a fairy?", "Who or what would a fairy oppose?", "Who or what is connected with scientology?", " Who or what would oppose witches?" The answers, running into several hundreds, were of a kind and degree similar to those given in the previously described sessions.

As a climax to this series of sessions, the preclear in the course of a 2 hour 35 minute session gave over 300 answers to the question, "Who or what would oppose fairies?", the answers being of a kind and degree comparable with those earlier mentioned, with, however, great emphasis on things that were "ugly", and including, incidentally, "an elephant who was not like an elephant should be" and "a triangle that did not meet at one of its corners."

From these sessions, and by the use of the E-meter on the preclear, it was decided that the "reliable item" was "ugliness " and " ugly things". After further processing, during which the preclear's goal was determined as being "to create a beautiful universe", there followed more "Who or what" processing, including at least two sessions in which the question was, "Who or what would the goal to create a beautiful universe oppose?" The answers given by the preclear totalled about 150, several of them being as disgusting as answers given in earlier sessions. In this session and in some of the earlier sessions, the auditor was a male.

Before she was married, this preclear in correspondence with Hubbard made confessions of her overts and withholds, including confessions of her misconduct with another member of the HASI staff, and other quite weird and sometimes disgusting matters, some of which were the sheerest fantasy about her thetan's existence in a "police" state millions of years ago when she was a member of a force of invaders who "used to swoop down on bodies, in and out in and out," giving the thetans of those bodies terrible frights and causing them to exteriorize.

This woman was formerly a school teacher who had qualified as HPA and for a time was employed as an auditor at the HASI.

One young male preclear who, to the knowledge of the HASI, had shortly before received psychiatric treatment and had revealed to the HASI his "compulsions" as "fears on girls", "feels he must keep away from small girls", was accepted by the HASI for auditing and was processed intermittently over about four years. During one course, when his auditor was a young woman, one of his goals was to "work towards not masturbating any more." The following year his goal was still, "to stop masturbating."

At one time he was required to write down his "goals". He compiled a list of over 600 goals, several of which were of a most depraved nature.

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For a period, he was subjected to the "R2-12, Listing', process and, to the repeated question, "Who or what would oppose psychiatry ?" he gave over 1,400 answers, many of them disgusting and containing obscene emphasis. Then he provided 750 answers to "Who or what would oppose social disease ?" and 350 answers to "Who or what would social disease oppose ? " From these answers a " reliable item " was found to be " a good smell accordingly, he was repeatedly asked in processing, "Who or what would a good smell oppose?" to which he gave over 500 answers. The nature of his answers to this series of questions was almost unbelievably filthy.

This unfortunate individual, mentally ill and with sexual problems, distressed because of an association with a young woman, and disappointed that auditing did not cure a skin irritation which he had, was required for years to wallow in the mire of his disturbed mind, shackled to scientology and goaded by its beastly methods.

One female preclear first became interested in scientology in 1954, when a psychologist who practised scientology audited her for about 300 hours for fees amounting to something over £200. The preclear considered that this auditing had done her harm. Thereafter she became acquainted with the HASI and between 1958 and 1964 she spent thousands of pounds on scientology. Though there was no economic necessity for her to take employment, she periodically did so to earn money to pay for her auditing. By February, 1958, she had had 27½ hours auditing at the HASI and thereafter she embarked on a series of intensive auditing sessions. By October, 1958, when she had had over 122 hours auditing on the goal "to be clear", with a balance of about 150 hours to go, her auditor reported, "pc determined to be clear next Wed." In October, 1964, when she gave evidence before the Board, she was then currently undergoing a course of auditing, of which she had had over 100 hours, and she was being audited 3 half days a week; she was still not clear.

At some time subsequent to 1958, this preclear had Mrs. Williams as her auditor. After 44 hours of auditing in an intensive of 50 hours, the auditor's report read, "Pc had somatics in stomach, shoulder and head . . . . got very itchy and fidgetty . . . . solid silver ball was very real to begin with, ' the realest thing so far, very solid.' During process Pc had unreality, turn off and on. Brought ball out of head and put it back again." After the next session the auditor reported, "I found I had not got the basic rock, so scouted and found solid silver sphere that Pc had been hiding in her head. Ran resp [responsibility) on it for last part of session. pc tried to hide it again but caught her in time."

About the end of 1960 this preclear was required to answer a questionnaire ; some of the questions and her answers to them were:

Question: "What was your original goal when you first became interested in Dianetics and Scientology?"

Answer: "To get out of the doldrums and near psychosis I was in." (This preclear had had psycho-analysis and therapy in 1952, 1953 and 1954, a circumstance known to the HASI).

Question: "Have you had any failure in being helped by Dianetics and Scientology ?"

Answer: "Yes - 6 years ago I was processed by a scientologist and was worse at the end of it. Also I had processing with the goal to be clear and was disappointed that I didn't reach it (2 years ago)."

Question: "What are your future processing plans ?"

Answer: "The processing I receive during training (HPA) then later when I can afford it I'll have what I can afford. I want to reach OT some day."

In 1961 when asked what goals she had for "this country" she named as her goals, "judges to be scientologists, also M.P.'s, in fact, anyone in prominent positions". By the time she gave evidence before the Board she said she no longer had such goals.

On the 6th February, 1961, Mrs. Gogerly, as director of processing, considered that she should have a further 100 hours processing for a start and would require 250 to 275 hours auditing to clear, though it might be less. Two days later, the preclear signed for 50 hours, to be taken about June, and felt at that stage she could not afford to sign for 100 hours, but said she would do so if she could.

On the 10th March, 1961, one of the staff auditors wrote to her the almost standard letter, part of which read, "Ron wants you to come in and get auditing immediately. He wants a clear in your area."

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Included in the course of auditing she had thereafter were a number of occasions when she was run on the "R2-12, Listing" process. To the question, "Who or what would oppose the organization?" she gave over 500 answers. To the question, "Who or what would you not communicate with?" she gave 750 answers, some of which were utterly revolting, disgusting and sexually perverted. To the question, "Who or what would oppose people who made you confess?" she gave 170 answers, and two days later, to the question, "Who or what would oppose the getting in first with your confession?" she gave 450 answers.

In some sessions highly personal and sexual matters were discussed with her various auditors, sometimes with a male auditor. Intimate secrets were extracted from her by such questions as, "What would you not be willing to tell an auditor?"

This preclear was an anxious type of person not quite sure what she was seeking; that she was on occasions mentally disturbed was evident. It was clear that she was in need of psychiatric assistance; she had not sought it in recent years. She found escape from reality in scientology, and considered that going into the HASI was like walking into sanity.

It should not be thought that the foregoing examples exhaust the cases in which matters of sex and perversion were dealt with in an obscene and uninhibited way. Nor should it be thought that they mark the limits of mental depravity reached. By way of further illustration, the transcript of part of the evidence of Mrs. Williams, given before the Board on the 18th September, 1964, is set out in Appendix 19. At that time she was HCO Secretary, and had recently returned to Melbourne after attending a special briefing course at Saint Hill, under the guidance of Hubbard. She was one of the highest ranking scientologists who gave evidence before the Board; as HCO Secretary, she was directly responsible to Hubbard.

Also included in Appendix 19 are details of some preclears' cases which further illustrate the degree of mental depravity reached in some scientology processes.